Rise Of the Real People

I am 5'10" woman wearing a 10/12 so I hope that I am included in the definition of real people instead of the backlash against slender individuals.

... and just think how much money they'll save not having to hire hot models, LOL!

so when you say eating disorders vs. obesity, its really all the same issue. there is no need for the "vs." i think the issue would get a hell of a lot better if people started treating it for what it was... not an issue with food, but an issue with self. especially when you consider the fact that a large portion of people with eating disorders (including binge eating which leads to obesity) have been sexually abused. usually, sexual abuse causes a women to feel betrayed by her body, therefore leading to an eating disorder (binge eating included).

obesity is a form of eating disorder: its called binge eating disorder. in my practice, i would never tell an anorexic to just eat, likewise i would never tell an obese person to stop eating. obesity stems from a mental health issue, and it should be treated that way. treatment needs to be from the inside out: why are you not respecting yourself? obviously, a diet isn't going to help. what will help is therapy, and generally the same things that help an anorexic or bulimic patient get better. food is their drug, and it needs to be treated like any other addictive disorder.

Oh, and let's put eating disorders vs obesity into perspective. Roughly 7 million people have eating disorders in the US. In contrast, 25% of AMericans are obese. That's 75 MILLION people. Which do YOU think is the bigger heath risk.?

no excuses here... just facts and personal experience

i wish you could come to my work, and see the girls that i work with, who are sometimes totally emaciated, with bones sticking out all over the place, and they think they are fat. so in other words, you must think that 90% of americans are fat? i studied in greece for 6 weeks, and didn't see much of a difference. you should do some research on the topic and i think that you will find that most of the women who think they are fat are not.

I come from Europe over 2 year ago and first thing I notice is fat American boy and girl. I wonder why so fat and see mexican restaurant all over and no mother cook at home for son and daughter. I used be fat but now am skinny and am much healthy. Fat cause diabetes and stroke so American boy and girl want diabetes and stroke. American must stop making excuses. If kid feel fat he probably fat.

I come from Europe over 2 year ago and first thing I notice is fat American boy and girl. I wonder why so fat and see mexican restaurant all over. I used be fat but now am skinny and am much healthy. Fat leads to diabetes and stroke so American boy and girl want diabetes and stroke. Must stop making excuses.

and somewhere around 75% of elementary school girls report feeling "fat" and wanting to diet or being on a diet

i think another thing we need to keep in mind is that statistically, about 90% of women say that they dislike their bodies, and are generally very unhappy with their appearance. also, a large number of women (upwards of 80%) are on some kind of restrictive diet. obviously, not 90% of women in this country are obese, so even normal and thin women feel horrible about their bodies and are on a diet. how sad!

i think when i say that people who are thin are not real, i'm talking about models. which, by and large, have plastic surgery, and if they are in magazines, are probably 90% airbrushed. i think that these things are not "real" by anyones standards. so we should have models of all sizes (thin included) that ARE real, like not airbrushed, no plastic surgery, flaws, etc etc. and in the dove campaign, they do include thin women, but thin as they may be, they still do not look like typical "models"

I like the trend; it's about time. Wellness comes in all shapes and sizes. Here's an idea .... use data from Wal-mart and Macy's. What are the top selling sizes for women's clothing? How about using that as a gauge to what 1-2 sizes for the runway?? Then you'd be assured of getting real people to fit in them.

and about the dove campaign, like i said before, the point of the campaign is to show that all women deserve to practice self care and self love. EVEN those who are REALLY REALLY obese. believe it or not, those women also deserve to love themselves. it shouldn't be about appearance. people in this society need to realize that for the most part, the media lies to us by saying women who are thin are healthy. and, btw, what about men?? are people just less concerned about their health, or is it that men can be fat and healthy, or is that men can be fat, but the only thing that matters is their money and status?

And who cares about being average etc. i wish that people wanted to be above average in intelligence, volunteering, caring about others, empathy, level of education and things along those lines. average is a relative, subjective term. most people think angelina jolie is beautfiul and above average, but in my opinion she is nothing special. i prefer my best friend, who is beautiful and above average because of the traits that radiate from the inside.

part of my job as a counselor for eating disorder patients is weighing them to determine their BMI, and how much weight they need to gain. so in other words, i've seen a lot of weights and a lot of BMIs. i think you would be surprised at how someone can look "chubby" and actually have a healthy BMI. i think that the media does a fantastic job of showing us thin women, and saying "here is what healthy looks like." but from a realistic perspective, if you calculated BMIs of people, it would look a lot different than what the media claims.

I dont mean to offend but I dont actually believe the Dove campaign sells a healthy body image. While it is great for them that they are comfortable enough on camera to be in the underwear and bras . I dont think they are healthy. If they took a body measurement index I am sure they would be considered "over weight". While I suppose they are meant to be the "average " women I personally dont want to be represented by them. Doesnt any one want the "average" women to be tone and fit? instead of flabby ?